MedUniVienna: Testing cancer treatments in the body’s own tumour microenvironment
MedUni Vienna team develops laboratory model for combinations of radiotherapy and immunotherapy
Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna have developed a new laboratory model as part of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, a joint initiative of MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna (AKH), which can be used to test potential combinations of radiotherapy and immunotherapy on tumour and immune cells from individual patients. A combination of radiotherapy and activation of the STING signalling pathway proved particularly effective. The results were published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research.
In advanced cancers, malignant fluid accumulations can form in the chest or abdominal cavity. These often contain tumour cells. The research team used such samples (‘patient-derived autologous tumour-immune effusion cocultures’, or PATEC for short) to isolate tumour cells in the laboratory and examine them together with immune cells from the same patients.
This created a patient-relevant model of the tumour microenvironment. It shows not only how tumour cells react on their own, but also how they interact with the body’s own immune cells. This is particularly important because immunotherapies depend precisely on these interactions.
“With PATEC, we can investigate combination therapies not only on tumour cells but also in interaction with the patients’ own immune cells. This is crucial, as immunotherapies in particular depend on these interactions,” explains Rebecca Zirnbauer from the Division of Visceral Surgery at the Department of General Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna.
STING activation enhances the effect of radiotherapy
In the study, the researchers tested radiotherapy, various immune activators and immune checkpoint inhibitors in different combinations. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs designed to release the ‘brakes’ on the immune system, enabling immune cells to attack cancer cells more effectively.
The strongest effect was observed with a combination of radiotherapy and a so-called STING agonist. STING is a signalling pathway of the innate immune system. When specifically activated, the immune system can respond more strongly to tumour cells. In laboratory models, this combination led to the greatest destruction of tumour cells.
The study also showed that direct contact between tumour and immune cells is crucial in this process. When the two cell types were separated, the effect was significantly weaker.
A step towards precision oncology
The results show that samples from malignant fluid accumulations can be used not only for diagnosis but also for research into new combinations of therapies. In future, the model could help to better understand why certain patients respond more strongly to a therapy than others.
“Our data show that not every sample reacts in the same way. It is precisely this heterogeneity that is clinically relevant. A functional ex vivo system such as PATEC can help to investigate effective combinations in a more targeted manner before they are further tested in larger clinical trials,” said the research team.
The method is still a research model. Before concrete treatment decisions for individual patients can be derived from it, further studies involving larger numbers of patients and clinical follow-up data are necessary.
Parts of the research group involved (comprising the Division of Visceral Surgery at the Department of General Surgery at the University Clinic for General Surgery and the Department of Thoracic Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna) are funded by the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research and the Ludwig Boltzmann Society as part of the Clinical Research Groups programme.
Publication: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research
Autologous tumour-immune effusion cocultures enable ex vivo functional profiling of radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations.
Zirnbauer R, Ammon D, Mosleh B, Speiser N, Theophil A, Fabits M, Hoda MAR, Bergmann M, Laengle J.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 14 April 2026;45(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s13046-026-03707-5
Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna
The Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Vienna, run by MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, brings together all professional groups from these two institutions who treat cancer patients, conduct cancer research and are active in teaching and training in this field. https://ccc.meduniwien.ac.at/
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